Hope
by Vian
Summary: how will another change effect the seaquest
1. prologue

disclaimer: SeaQuest DSV and all its included characters don't belong to me, they do in fact belong to  
  
others who are not me. i.e don't sue me k. I make no profit from this its all for fun  
  
Note: this story is set after the show ended during season 3, I know, I know that means Hudson  
  
so to all those people who have issues with him deal  
  
  
  
rated pg-13 for the probability of issues later on, further warnings will be given withen chapters  
  
Hope  
  
  
  
  
  
Through out time the sky has continued to change, the sun has continued to rise and fall, and things will continue to remain the same. Besides these undisputed facts remain that choices will be made and have been made. Choices shape our lives while slowly driving us mad. Ghosts, spirits of unknown consequences, these are really the creators of our existence for if they did not exist neither would we.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------  
  
September 2034  
  
  
  
The bleak sky was beginning to glow as the sun rose on the horizon. It was another day, and another chance to die. Hope would never be gained from this scene, and few people would ever know what it meant to lose. Tim knew what it was like to have hope for he had been living it for the past year. A year that had gone by too fast, and whose close had left him back where he had started, completely alone, and in a prison he could never escape from completely.  
  
Tim turned away from the illuminated part of his gray wall that had been the focus of his attention and retreated back into the relative safety of the darkness. It was only now, in the darkness, that he could relax somewhat. Where the constant fear of living, of being crushed in by his surroundings, was held at bay. He found the stale air almost soothing as he sank down onto the floor again. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness so did his mind wander.  
  
'No don't think about that!" he chastised himself " its not like remembering will do any good. Your alone, deal with it. You made your choice. Your alone." As the words hung in the air the self-loathing contained in those words could not be dismissed. Life had turned into a constant struggle for survival, and memories clouded his mind constantly. While memories occupied his days, nightmares plagued his short periods of rest until finally all that was left was exhaustion, and self-contained madness. The truth was he didn't want to remember what he had lost, but in the end sleep would always claim him, and make him a prisoner of his mind once more.  
  
====== 


	2. only the first chapter

====  
  
September 27, 2033  
  
  
  
All was quiet on the SeaQuest bridge as the night shift went about their routine duties. Peace was not something anybody took for granted and everybody cherished its rare occurrences. With no exception even Lt. Commander Kimura was happy for the solitude. For such a high-ranking officer it was strange to see her on duty at this late an hour, but Kimura cherished it. She recognized the tension her presence brought and chose to separate herself from it. As she continued to think about her past few months on board a sharp bang suddenly brought her out of her reverie. "Ensign Klein, report"  
  
"unknown, sir. I' m not tracking anything unusual."  
  
"well find out I want to know what happened" no sooner than Kimura finished speaking that another loud bang was heard only this time it was accompanied with the reaction of a torpedo.  
  
"Ensign!"  
  
"we're taking on water decks 7 and 8"  
  
"seal off those sections and page the captain to the bridge"  
  
As her orders were carried out the more senior officers appeared on the bridge taking up their regular stations around the helm. As Commander Ford and Captain Hudson appeared on the bridge she took up the communications post as Ford took her regular station. No ones attention was drawn by this change for it had been in practice for the past month as O'Neill had been landside completing training.  
  
"Henderson report" Hudson barked out in his usual style  
  
"sir I'm still not reading any ships in the area."  
  
"sir" Lucas interjected "my sensors are showing a slight increase in water temperature. From the amount of heat generated it appears to have been a very small fighter craft of some sort, but it appears to have gone now. "  
  
"thank you Mr. Wolenczak. Can you detect any signs of his presence besides the thermal?"  
  
"None sir, it appears to have vanished and I'm not even tracking it on thermal anymore."  
  
"alright I want continuous thermal tracking in this area. If it moves I want to know about it. The rest of you I want continuous monitoring of all systems at the ready.  
  
Mr. Wolenczak I want you to continue working on finding out exactly what kind of craft that was and how they managed to escape our sensors. If you need me further I'll be in my quarters. Commander you have the bridge."  
  
With those parting words Hudson quickly departed leaving the helm once again in silence, but with a new kind of nervous energy present. The fact that Hudson disappeared so quickly was not as startling as it had been in the past for he rarely did anything people expected of him any more. The on going conflict with Macronesia had been especially grueling these past few weeks, and nobody was behaving as they normally would, especially Hudson.  
  
The hours passed slowly as Lucas poured over the information his computer was giving him. He knew little of military war craft, so the search was going especially slow as he cross-referenced material. By the time Hudson returned to the bridge he knew little more than he knew before.  
  
"Mr. Wolenczak have you been able to find any more information on our visitor from this morning?"  
  
"Well since the WSKR's were'nt able to extract any data I'm kinda having to guess. The amount of heat generated seems to point to it being a small fighter craft, but any information is hard to figure out. The fact that we didn't detect them seems to point to the fact that they either have some sort of cloaking device, if you will, or they have a way to jam our signals."  
  
"Commander has there been any activity since the first attack?"  
  
"None what so ever. I'm beginning to think that it was a test of some sort"  
  
"that commander is a possibility" Hudson replied equally as soft  
  
As Lucas stooped paying attention to Hudson and Fords minor conversation his attention began to drift around the bridge. From Henderson to Tony to Dagwood, who had randomly wandered up to the bridge, to finally the station that Kimura sat at.  
  
God I can't believe she's sitting there. It just seems so wrong to see her and not Tim.  
  
I wish I could suddenly get recalled for training. Maybe get away from Hudson for a while.  
  
I wonder when Tim's getting back anyway.  
  
As soon as he thought those words Kimura's voice broke him out of his daze.  
  
"Sir I'm receiving an in coming communications from Lt. O'Neill."  
  
"Lets hear it"  
  
With that the face of one Lt. Tim O'Neill could be seen on the tiny screen by communications.  
  
"Lt. its good to see you again, what's your eta?"  
  
for a moment the kindness in Hudson's voice caught Tim off guard before he quickly recovered " thank you sir, and I should be within seaquest sensor range in a few minutes."  
  
"very good Lt. there will be a docking port waiting for you"  
  
"thank you sir this is mr-2 out" and the screen returned to its normal waiting phase  
  
"Henderson let me know when O'Neill is within sensor range and keep scanning the area with everything we have."  
  
"You think O'Neill's in danger" Ford quietly asked  
  
"I'm not taking any chances. "Hudson answered back "in that shuttle he is virtually defenseless"  
  
  
  
***************  
  
"- this is mr-2 out"  
  
" that was weird" O'Neill reflected back to himself out loud  
  
Talking to himself was an old habit he had had since his childhood, but one that few knew about. It was the sound of his own voice that had kept him company through many years and it was the sound that comforted him now in the close confines of the shuttle.  
  
Tim's mind continued to wander as his hands automatically worked the many switches on the shuttles control panel making it look extremely simple. If anyone had been watching they would have wondered how a communications officer was this familiar with the controls of a shuttle. Unfortunately no one was around and because it was so simple Tim paid little attention to most of the numerous screens that were mapping the waters around him. In fact, Tim's mind was so caught up in reflecting on his odd habits that when the blaring alarm went off the shock was extreme.  
  
****************  
  
"Sir" Henderson shouted, "I'm detecting torpedoes in the water"  
  
"fire intercepts Lt." Hudson returned  
  
"I can't sir we're out of range. We aren't the target."  
  
"Not yet. Kimura, Piccolo get out there."  
  
*****************  
  
"Oh god!" were the only words Tim could utter as the torpedo impacted the end portion of the shuttle throwing him from his chair, and effectively crippling the shuttle, leaving it a sitting duck.  
  
"ok don't panic, calm, stay calm Tim," he repeated quietly to himself as he picked himself up off the floor "you do this every day, seaquest..."  
  
opening a channel  
  
"SeaQuest this is shuttle mr-2 I have been hit and am in need of assistance, repeat I'm in need of assistance, location...." BOOM!!!!  
  
*******************  
  
On the bridge officers were hurrying to fill the positions left empty when Lucas heard the communication come through  
  
"SeaQuest this is shuttle mr-2 I have been hit"  
  
Oh God no come on Tony you gotta get there  
  
"and am in need of assistance,"  
  
at least he's ok, for now though  
  
"repeat I'm in need of assistance,"  
  
dammit location O'Neill  
  
"location..."  
  
from there the only thing Lucas heard was static as the line suddenly went dead  
  
NOnonononononononono god no please  
  
"Tim, Tim, O'Neill come in" was the only thing he could repeat as he frantically switched channels trying to find any hint of his friend's voice.  
  
  
  
  
  
To be continued…. 


End file.
